The Torri di Fraele, or Fraele Towers, share their name with the mountain pass in which they are found (also known as the Passo delle Scale, or the Stairway Passage).

Standing 1,930 metres above sea level, they can be seen from the road that goes from Bormio to Livigno. Dating back to the end of the 14th century, these two four-sided towers were built in 1391 at the height of the Viscount epoch and would have been part of a much larger fortress, since destroyed. Their dual purpose was to defend the Bormio territory from attacks from the north and to exercise control extending from Livigno to the Val Viola. 

These towers, the only ones in the province built for the defence of a passage, are found at the peak of a steep rock on which wooden sleepers are found, movable in the event of danger, creating a sort of staircase (from which the name “Staircase Passage” derives). Fortified by the Duke of Milan in 1491, they were later destroyed by the Graubünden who invaded Bormio in 1513.   

Only the ruins of the Fraele Towers are visible today, although recent restoration efforts have allowed for the reconstruction of the western tower which, the larger of the two, stands over 13 metres tall, 6.50 on each side. Only partially restored, the western tower, overhanging the valley, appears to be missing a wall. 

The final stop on our green tour of Valtellina, the Fraele Towers are easily accessible via a paved road from Bormio, following signs for the Sorgenti dell’Adda, or Adda River Springs, or the Lago di Cancano.